Phases
The four phases and nine steps of the pair lifecycle, which skill runs each, and what every phase leaves behind.
Four phases, nine steps. Each step has a how-to guide in the Knowledge Base and a skill that runs it. You enter at whatever phase matches your project; /pair-next tells you which.
The building blocks, not a manual checklist
This section describes every building block of the pair process. You do not need to know them all, nor run each step by hand, unless you want maximum control.
pair ships workflow and loop skills that chain these steps for you: the refinement workflow takes a card from idea to Ready, the delivery workflow takes it from Ready to a reviewed pull request. Together with classification and tag-driven automation, they automate most of the process and escalate to you only when your own rules say a human is needed.
How to read on: go through the phases to learn how pair works, then read the workflow pages to automate the process.
Three ways to run the steps
The steps are the same in every mode; what changes is who drives them.
| Mode | Who drives | You step in | Read |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assisted | pair guides you through every phase with AI, you run each skill | at every step | the phase pages below |
| Supervised | pair automates one card from start to finish | at checkpoints and escalations | Refinement workflow, Delivery workflow |
| Autonomous | pair watches the backlog and runs the whole process on every card matching your criterion (e.g. all risk:green or all UI cards) | only when classification escalates a card | Tag-driven automation, Lifecycle modes |
Think of driving automation in cars: assistance, then a car that drives a stretch while you supervise, then one that drives itself inside a defined area. The analogy is spelled out in Lifecycle modes. You can mix them: plan Assisted, deliver Supervised, and let low-risk cards run Autonomous. Details and per-assistant support: Lifecycle modes.
The steps
| Phase | Runs | Card | Leaves behind |
|---|---|---|---|
| Induction | once | PRD | .pair/adoption/ filled in, prioritized initiatives |
| Strategic planning | per initiative | Initiative | epics sized for a few sprints each |
| Iteration | per epic | Epic | Ready stories with tasks |
| Execution | per story | Story | a merged pull request |
Two ways to follow the steps: process skills (recommended: one slash command, the AI runs the structured process, composes capability skills and updates your PM tool) or the how-to guides in .pair/knowledge/how-to/ for the same process by hand. Both are listed in the Skills catalog and the Guidelines and how-to catalog.
Next: Induction, the one-time setup. After the four phases, continue with the refinement workflow and the delivery workflow to automate them.